Water Content of the Food and its Influence on Food Choice of Francois' Langur at Nonggang,Guangxi,China
Data on the diet were collected from one group of Francois' langurs(Trachypithecus francoisi) between October 2005 and July 2006 at Nonggang Nature Resereve, Guangxi province, using instantaneous scan sampling. To explore the influence of water content in food on langur's food choice, water contents of the food species were measured, and the relationship between water contents of the food species and their consumption were analyzed. The results indicated that there was significant variation in the water contents of different plant parts eaten by langurs. Immature leaves had the largest value of water content,which accounted for 71. 52% ,followed by mature leaves for 66. 25% ,and fruits had the lowest value 63. 42%. The monthly mean water content in plant food showed significant variation, ranging from 61. 59% to 72. 59%. However, there was no significant difference in the mean water content in plant food according to season. The relationships between the monthly feeding time for leaves of different plant species and their corresponding water content were tested,and significant correlations in November and December were found. This indicated that water content of the food may be one of the factors influencing the food choice of the Francois' langur in Karst habitat,especially in the dry season.
Francois' langurwater content in foodfood choicekarst habitat
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据
维普
